Mommy Matters: "Wonder" brings hope to local parents

It's a movie getting a lot of attention with a cast that includes Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson.

"Wonder" is based on the book of the same name.

Stacey Skrysak introduces you to a local Sherman family hoping the movie's message will resonate with the community.

It's a heartwarming movie inspiring millions.

"Wonder" is the story of a boy with facial differences. It's a familiar narrative for the Winningham family.

"I think it's extremely exciting because there are so many syndromes and different things going on, and it's not every day you get a book and a big movie with A-list actors," Kinley's mother, Amy Winningham, said.

Amy and Derek are parents to Kinley, born with Treacher Collins, the same syndrome portrayed in the movie.

"It's a condition that affects the facial developments the bones and tissues in the face, usually in the first trimester," Amy said.

The condition went undetected during Amy's pregnancy. It wasn't until she gave birth when their lives changed forever.

"It was breathtaking, it was amazing, it was scary," said Derek Winningham, Kinley's father. "All in one, you couldn't wait to give her the world."

Kinley spent more than five months as an infant in hospitals in both Springfield and St. Louis.

These days, she's a happy toddler with what her mom calls extra accessories.

"Up here we have her hearing aid; it's a bone conduction," Amy said. "With it, she hears just like we would, she would have normal hearing."

Kinley has a trach to help her breathe and she faces a lifetime of procedures.

"Kids with this syndrome, surgeries will go well into adult years," Amy said. "They will roughly probably have 60 just to really help better their life."

It may be a long road, but Kinley is just like any other child.

"She's of average intelligence, she does everything that every other kid does," Derek said. "She's going to lead a perfectly normal life." :09 Hopefully someday she's going to be a surgeon or she's going to be helping people like the doctors who helped her."

As Kinley makes her mark on this world, her parents hope the blockbuster movie will help people understand the rare genetic condition while teaching an important lesson in kindness.

"It doesn't matter what you look like or how you go about it," Amy said. "We're all equal. Kinley is capable of doing anything that any other child can do. And I just hope people see that." :12

The theme of "Wonder" is 'choose kind' and Kinley's parents hope that's what people take from the movie.

They want others to really get to know their daughter and see Kinley's bright and funny personality.